INTERLUDE  

Establishing Shot:  Darkness.

                                  YURI (V.O.)
                    WHISPERED Kei? BEAT Kei?

                                  KEI (V.O.)
                    FLAT What.

                                  YURI (V.O.)
                    I can't sleep.  There is a long silent moment.

                                  KEI (V.O.)
                    Try again.  Try harder.

                                  YURI (V.O.)
                    How are you supposed to try hard to
                    sleep?

                                  KEI (V.O.)
                    I don't know, but I'd guess that it
                    involves *not* talking to your
                    roommate who is also trying to
                    sleep.

                                  YURI (V.O.)
                    So you're having trouble getting to
                    sleep too?  

There is another long silent moment, broken by the sound of something  
hitting a wall repeatedly.

                                  YURI (V.O.)
                    What was that?

                                  KEI (V.O.)
                    What do you *think*?  Me hitting my
                    head against the wall!  SHOUTS
                    Lights!  

The lights come up, revealing their bedchamber.  KEI has the top bunk,  
YURI has the bottom.  They are dressed in flannel pyjamas.

                                      KEI
                    Why are you having trouble sleeping?

                                     YURI
                    We haven't been able to get any more
                    information about the situation, and
                    it's starting to worry me ...

                                      KEI
                    We've gone into situations without
                    knowing anything before this, Yuri.

                                     YURI
                    And what always happened?

                                      KEI
                    QUICK Nothing that was ever our
                     fault.

                                     YURI
                    But we always looked like idiots.

                                      KEI
                    Which wasn't our fault.  

YURI suddenly jumps up onto KEI's bunk, and KEI scrambles out of the way.   
YURI looks at KEI intensely and holds her hand out.

                                     YURI
                    Let's *do* it.  

KEI stares at the hand, not comprehending, and blinks.  Suddenly,  
understanding dawns.

                                      KEI
                    Oh!  The psychic thing!  Right!  I
                    thought ... never mind.  

KEI takes YURI's hand in her own, and they both concentrate fiercely.  

Cut to a shot of Earth from space.  A gentle song can be heard being sung  
in many faint voices.  Suddenly, burning cracks cut across the Earth,  
causing the song to become a scream.  The cracks pulse outward, and the  
Earth explodes.  A horrific laugh is heard.

                                 WOMAN'S VOICE
                    I!  WINNNNNNNNNN!  

More laughter.  

Cut to KEI and YURI.  KEI suddenly jerks back, a horrified look on her  
face.

                                      KEI
                    `I win'?  What the --

                                     YURI
                    Is that what happens if we go along
                    with the plan ... or if we give up
                    on it?

                         An Inevitable Outcome Feature

                             Written and Directed
                            by C. Richard Davies

                                TOGETHER AGAIN

                                 2937 Chapter

                             Based on the works of
                      Naoko Takeuchi, Rumiko Takahashi,
                    Suzuki Toshimichi, Haruka Takachiho,
                        Hiroki Hayashi, Yuuki Masami,
                     and various interpretations therof.

                  Dedicated to Gryphon, MegaZone, and ReRob.
                           And to Ellen DeGeneres.

                          (Even if it *is* intended
                             as a ratings ploy.)

                                   ACT FOUR  

Establishing Shot:  The emergency room from the previous Act, now in  
shadows.  Everyone and everything is at rest.  In the distance, we can  
hear a clicking noise.  A door slides open, and MERCURY steps in,  
deliberately moving quietly ... and pausing as she hears the noise.  She  
turns towards an office space, under the door of which we can see a faint  
green light.  MERCURY frowns, and heads slowly towards the door.  She  
pauses, listening, for a moment, and then suddenly flings the door open.  

JUPITER, her left arm in a sling, is seated behind a desk, looking up at a  
holographic display that hovers above the desk, working a mouse with her  
free hand.  She looks impassively at MERCURY, who is startled to see her.

                                    MERCURY
                    Lita, I'm glad that you're up and
                    about, but you really should get
                    your rest.

                                    JUPITER
                    The truth doesn't rest.  

There is a long pause.

                                    MERCURY
                    Have you any idea how corny that
                    sounds?

                                    JUPITER
                    NODS But it's accurate, somewhat.
                    There was a breach in our security
                    yesterday, and it's my job to under-
                    stand why it happened, so that we
                    can make sure it can never happen
                    again.  BEAT So I can't sleep.

                                    MERCURY
                    I see.  Well, what have you figured
                    out?

                                    JUPITER
                    It's not so much figuring -- that's
                    your department -- as it's putting
                    the pieces that we have together,
                    and trying to see just what sort of
                    picture they present. BEAT And I
                    can say that it's a very ugly one,
                    Amy.  A very, very ugly one.  

JUPITER taps a control, and the holographic display twists to present  
itself to MERCURY's view.  It's RYOUGA's medical information.  MERCURY  
lifts an eyebrow.

                                    MERCURY
                    You really should not be prying into
                    my patients' medical --

                                    JUPITER
                    Hibiki Ryouga.  Born 1977.  Victim
                    of a Jyusenkyo curse, the exact
                    details of which have been kept
                    under a privacy seal that I couldn't
                    crack.  BEAT And also not, as our
                    intelligence had led us to believe
                    for quite some time, a vampire.  In
                    fact, his exceptional longevity is
                    the result of having partaken of
                    mermaid's flesh.  But not in the
                    most common form of that very rare
                    condition -- eating mermaid's flesh
                    and risking transformation into an
                    inhuman entity -- but through an
                    occult ritual involving replacing
                    one's liver with a mermaid's liver.
                    BEAT There are three main 
                    drawbacks to the ritual.  One -- the
                    subject must be dead before the
                    ritual begins.  Two -- the subject
                    will be driven by an uncontrollable
                    urge to consume the livers of other
                    beings.  And three, which is the
                    most crippling -- all the memories
                    of the new immortal's life before
                    his or her transformation will be
                    lost.

                                    MERCURY
                    I know all this.  

JUPITER clicks the control again, and the display changes to a page of  
text with a diagram of a human body, indicating the exact location of the  
liver.

                                    JUPITER
                    You should.  The section on mermaid
                    flesh in "Means of Immortality",
                    your first major work of magickal
                    scholarship, is very complete.
                    BEAT But the connection might be
                    overlooked except for one little
                    fact.  Hibiki said that *we* created
                    him.

                                    MERCURY
                    The ravings of a madman would have
                    little weight in court.

                                    JUPITER
                    ANGRY God's sake, Amy, this isn't
                    a matter of courts!  BEAT  And if
                    I've learned one thing from all this
                    it has to be that Hibiki wasn't
                    insane.  Dedicated, fanatical,
                    possibly even obsessed -- but very,
                    very sane.  BEAT  I know that I
                    didn't do this.  I wouldn't know
                    where to start.  Raye might know,
                    but she'd never do something like
                    this.  Mina -- no.  If Serenity
                    wants someone to be immortal, she
                    can use the Silver Crystal.  I'd
                    guess that Pluto has her own ways.
                    We both know where Saturn is.
                    BEAT And that leaves you.  And you
                    know how.  

MERCURY has made her face a mask.  She stares silently at JUPITER.

                                    MERCURY
                    What do you want me to say?

                                    JUPITER
                    I want to know why, Amy.  

MERCURY is silent, staring down at the floor for a long moment.

                                    MERCURY
                    Lights.  

The lights in the darkened office come up to full power.  MERCURY looks  
up, and we can see that her eyes are beginning to water.

                                    MERCURY
                    It was ... the early 2050s.  We had
                    just perfected the braindump based
                    on what we learned from the Sigma
                    Narses probe -- the entire mind of a
                    human being, contained on a single
                    optical disc.  And a decade before,
                    Romanova ... Nene ... had given us a
                    way to look at magic that we could
                    use within the scientific paradigm.
                    BEAT We all experimented with our
                    powers, didn't we?

                                    JUPITER
                    NOD That was when I discovered my
                    ultimate attack.

                                    MERCURY
                    I developed most of the techniques I
                    ... derived from Neptune at that
                    time, as well. BEAT But most of my
                    enthusiasm went towards discovering
                    -- or maybe rediscovering -- the
                    workings of the magical science of
                    the Silver Millenium. BEAT It was
                    around then that he came into my
                    life.  

JUPITER looks as though she's about to say the name, but MERCURY holds up  
a hand as she gathers her thoughts.

                                    MERCURY
                    He was as slow to age as any who are
                    subjected to a curse from those
                    pools -- or are the originators of
                    them, but that's another story.  But
                    his rival had blundered into true
                    immortality with our help.

                                    JUPITER
                    He got you to take sides.

                                    MERCURY
                    I didn't think it would be that way.
                    I hoped to help him deal with his
                    obsessions.  But as I worked with
                    him ... he's so sweet, Lita.  So
                    very gen--  

JUPITER stands up with the aid of a cane, and stares at MERCURY.

                                    MERCURY
                    When he's not in battle.  BEAT  In
                    any event, after I finished doing
                    the research for the book, he asked
                    me if there was really no way to
                    preserve a subject's mind after the
                    Mermaid's Liver Ritual.  I thought
                    about it, and I realized that the
                    mind of a person newly resurrected
                    by the ritual wasn't all that
                    different from the mind of a newly
                    grown clone ... and since we had
                    been preparing to play back brain-
                    tapes onto clones for at least
                    twenty years ... BEAT We made a
                    recording of his mind, and I
                    promised that after he died, I'd use
                    the ritual to bring him back, as an
                    immortal, and upload the recording
                    onto his brain.  And then he went on
                    his way.  BEAT I didn't find out
                    that I was pregnant until he'd been
                    gone a week.

                                    JUPITER
                    Oh, Amy.  

MERCURY continues as though she had not heard.

                                    MERCURY
                    He came back sooner than he'd
                    expected -- there was a plague on
                    the colony where he'd been training.
                    There wasn't even time for an update
                    of the braintape.  BEAT  He died.
                    I view what happened next as heroic
                    measures. CLOSES EYES

                                    JUPITER
                    You performed the ritual, and played
                    the braintape back onto his brain.
                    BEAT What went wrong?

                                    MERCURY
                    I thought ... I really thought ...
                    that it would be resurrection.  Not
                    cloning. BEAT He came back, but
                    there was a coldness in him now.
                    The gentleness was still there, so
                    was the fire ... but they weren't
                    the same.  Before the operation, I
                    hadn't had time to tell him about
                    our child.  Afterwards ... I didn't
                    want to.  

MERCURY's eyes open, and they are swimming with tears as she looks at  
JUPITER, who gazes back with a gentle expression.

                                    MERCURY
                    BROKENLY I was *just* trying to do
                    the *right* thing!  

MERCURY begins to sob, and JUPITER rushes forward to gather her in an  
embrace.

                                    JUPITER
                    I know, Amy.  Believe me, I know.  

Eventually, MERCURY has calmed down.  She rests in JUPITER's arms, her  
face bleak.

                                    MERCURY
                    What are you going to do?  

JUPITER's face is also bleak.

                                    JUPITER
                    What can I do?  This situation was
                    out of control from the minute it
                    started.  You were only fulfilling
                    your duty as you saw it.  I can't
                    judge you.  BEAT You're going to
                    have to tell Serenity.  

MERCURY shudders.

                                    JUPITER
                    Amy!  You don't think she'll punish
                    you for something like this ...

                                    MERCURY
                    No.  Worse.  She'll *look* at me.
                    BEAT Those eyes that are so like
                    Serena's and so unalike will look at
                    me, and see right through me ... and
                    then she'll forgive me.  BEAT  And
                    that will be worse than anything ...  

JUPITER nods, and leans on MERCURY as they start to walk out of the room.

                                    MERCURY
                    I suppose I should be glad that Raye
                    wasn't here for this ... I can just
                    imagine her reaction.  

Cut to a close up of RAYE sneezing.  The scene changes to show RAYE  
sitting across a chessboard from SHAMPOO in a posh room.  A window shows  
the stars.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    Someone talking about you?

                                     RAYE
                    Guess so ...  

She gazes intensely at the chessboard, and finally moves a white knight.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    Intriguing.

                                     RAYE
                    Um-hm.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    Check in two.

                                     RAYE
                    ANGRY Explain!  

SHAMPOO demonstrates, smiling superiorly, by moving a black pawn within  
striking range of the knight.  She then moves the knight to capture the  
pawn, which leaves the white queen open to another black pawn.  RAYE opens  
her mouth to protest, but SHAMPOO holds up a hand.  She replaces the  
knight ... and then moves the black queen to take it, imperiling the black  
queen but once more leaving the white queen open to the black pawn.  RAYE  
fumes.  SHAMPOO returns the board to its state just after RAYE's last  
move, and smiles even wider.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    Pa-ass.

                                 RANMA (O.S.)
                    Would you mind telling me why you're
                    wasting time playing that dumb game?  

SHAMPOO turns smiling (but her smile doesn't reach her eyes) to look at  
RANMA, who is sitting in front of a large picture window that shows a  
distant, slowly retreating Earth and moon, and beyond them, the sun.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    How do you think I ought to waste my
                    time, *husband*?

                                     RANMA
                    Don't *call* me that.  

SHAMPOO's smile drops.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    You are coming of your own free will
                    to Mars, Saotome Ranma.  The minute
                    that your feet touch Martian soil,
                    you are *mine*. BEAT There's not
                    a court on Mars that would fail to
                    uphold my claim to be your wife.  If
                    I feel like it, I can drag you
                    before one of the Martian Elders,
                    and demand that we be bound once and
                    for all.

                                     RANMA
                    I'd rather die, thanks.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    I'm aware of that.   So I'm not
                    going to press the issue this time,
                    if you don't push.  

RANMA shakes his head, almost amazed.

                                     RANMA
                    You don't get it, do you?  How can I
                    *not* push after what you've done?
                    BEAT Not four hours ago, you
                    admitted to having been happy at the
                    *murder* --

                                    SHAMPOO
                    SOFT Execution.

                                     RANMA
                    -- of the only other woman I've ever
                    loved anywhere *nearly* as much as
                    Akane -- after which you informed me
                    that Ucchan had been responsible for
                    *her* death, without any sort of
                    explanation as to how this absurdity
                    took place!

                                    SHAMPOO
                    You weren't ready to listen to an
                    explanation then.  

RANMA jumps up and looms in front of SHAMPOO.

                                     RANMA
                    SNARL I'm ready to listen *now*.  

RAYE studies the chessboard intensely as she speaks.

                                     RAYE
                    No you aren't.  You're ready to yell
                    denunciations and beat people up.
                    Listening isn't part of that.  

RANMA stares at her.

                                     RANMA
                    Do you *mind*?  

RAYE looks up and glowers at RANMA.

                                     RAYE
                    Yes.  I do mind.  You see, Shampoo's
                    sort of a friend of mine, and you're
                    sort of someone I don't care one way
                    or another about.

                                      RANMA
                    Do you have any idea what --

                                     RAYE
                    Sort of *hell* she made your life in
                    Nerima?  BEAT Yes, she's told me
                    about it.  I find a lot of things
                    that she did reprehensible --

                                    SHAMPOO
                    And I like you too.  

RAYE pauses to poke her tongue out at SHAMPOO.

                                     RAYE
                    -- but I believe in letting bygones
                    be bygones.  BEAT  I'm not going
                    to tell you to listen and mark well
                    what she has to tell you, Saotome.
                    If I didn't have a healthy respect
                    for your brains, I'd tell you to do
                    the opposite, trusting in your
                    learned stubborness.  

RANMA glowers at RAYE, who meets his gaze calmly.  Blue lightning crackles  
out from his eyes to a point halfway between their faces.  Nothing comes  
from RAYE's eyes.

                                     RAYE
                    SNEERS Not in *this* lifetime.  

RANMA crosses his arms over his torso, and turns to look down at SHAMPOO.

                                     RANMA
                    Please, please, please tell me.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    How can I refuse such a sincerely
                    phrased request?  BEAT Picture it:
                    Japan, 1983.

                                     RANMA
                    Oh, for godsake ...

                                    SHAMPOO
                    SMILE Let Shampoo tell story own
                    way?  Japan, 1983.  Two young
                    martial artists meet.    

A crayon drawing of a superdeformed version of Ranma and Ukyou appears on  
the screen and tinny music plays under SHAMPOO's narration.

                                 SHAMPOO (V.O.)
                    Each is the sole heir to their
                    families' schools of kempo -- what
                    the Chinese call ch'uan-fa, and the
                    Westerners have called kung fu.
                    Each young fighter is capable and
                    proud.  Needless to say, they are
                    off to a rocky start.  

With tinny battle cries, the SD Ranma and Ukyou charge each other, and the  
animation displays chaotic violence.  Eventually, SD Ranma is stting on SD  
Ukyou's shoulders, grinning.  SD Ukyou cries tears of frustration.

                                SHAMPOO (V.O.)
 		   And it only got worse ...  

Quick series of shots from Ukyou's arrival episode of Ranma 1/2 ... Genma  
running off with the Okonomiyaki cart, Chibi-Ranma waving bye-bye,  
Chibi-Ukyou chasing after them and falling down in the dirt, Chibi-Ukyou  
silently bearing the whispers of her classmates, Chibi-Ukyou cooking  
okonomiyaki against the raging sea.

                                SHAMPOO (V.O.)
                    So, because she was dumped by a
                    suitor while in kindergarten, and
                    teased about it, she elected to
                    abandon her gender and live as male.  

Cut back to SHAMPOO's dubious yet amused expression.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    Doesn't that seem a little ... over
                    the top?

                                     RANMA
                    Say *what*?  You, who chased me over
                    most of China, have the *nerve* to
                    suggest that what she did was --

                                    SHAMPOO
                    This isn't *about* me.  This isn't
                    *about* what I did or didn't do.
                    Please don't interrupt.  BEAT
                    Near the end of your first year in
                    Nerima, she caught you, but you made
                    her forget the years that she'd
                    spent hating you by telling her that
                    she was cute.  BEAT  This caused
                    her to reclaim her original gender,
                    and to abandon her plans to beat the
                    crap out of you.  An easily deterred
                    girl ...  

RANMA snorts.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    Over the next year and a half, she
                    tried many schemes to eliminate the
                    one that she saw as her primary
                    competition for your heart -- Akane
                    -- from the game.  She was, it must
                    be said, less violent in her aims
                    than ... others, but --

                                     RANMA
                    Like, say, *you*.  

SHAMPOO sighs, and counts to ten in Mandarin.  She smiles, and picks up  
where she left off -- accented.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    But still show no respect for what
                    Ranma want -- only think of what she
                    want.  True, try to match Akane with
                    Ryouga ... but think Ryouga dumb!
                    BEAT All come to boil at wedding
                    that parents of Ranma plan -- Ukyou
                    go after Akane with death in --

                                     RANMA
                    THAT WASN'T HER FAULT!  

SHAMPOO stares at RANMA, calmly.  RANMA glowers.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    You want tell part this?

                                     RANMA
                    BEAT A few weeks before the fight
                    with Saffron ... Ucchan got really
                    sick.  Everyone thought it was just
                    flu and overwork ... but it wasn't.
                    It was a disease that attacked her
                    mind ... BEAT  When she attacked
                    Akane, that wasn't really her, it
                    was the sickness ... but Konatsu
                    made her go to a psychiatrist, and
                    she got better.  A little while
                    later, she explained what had
                    happened ... Ucchan was so upset!
                    She couldn't even bring herself to
                    talk to Akane, she was so horrified
                    at what she'd done.  BEAT; ANGRY
                    You see?  She had an excuse for
                    what she did, Shampoo!  What's
                    *yours*?!  

SHAMPOO stares at him angrily.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    I am a warrior.  I live my life
                    according to a Way.  That Way
                    demands that you be my husband --
                    regardless of what *I* think about
                    the matter -- and that those who
                    would oppose our union must die or
                    be eliminated in another way.  I do
                    *not* intend to apologize for my
                    Way, Saotome Ranma.  I do not ask
                    for any to justify their Way to me.

                                     RANMA
                    What do you mean, what *you* think,
                    what about what *I* --

                                    SHAMPOO
                    You think I *want* a lying, foul-
                    tempered, sex-changing freak for a
                    husband?  

RANMA jerks back from the venom in SHAMPOO's tone.  When she speaks next,  
she imitates female RANMA's voice.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    "I try to keep it secret, but the
                    male side is just a disguise."  

RANMA opens his mouth ... then slowly closes it.  RAYE looks slowly from  
one of them to the other.

                                     RAYE
                    That was a little over the top, I
                    think ...  

Cut to PRISS' sleeping face.  There is a sudden, repeated buzzing noise.   
Her face clenches.  The noise comes again.  PRISS opens her eyes, and  
she's not happy.  The noise comes once more.  PRISS rolls over, picks up  
her cellular phone, and taps a button.

                                     PRISS
                    Assisted-Suicide-on-Demand, please
                    name your chosen mode of death and
                    we'll be happy to facilitate your
                    desires.

                                 NURIKO (TEL.)
                    Ms. Asagiri?  This is Lieutenant
                    Nuriko.

                                     PRISS
                    Why the hell are you calling me at
                    ... CHECKS TIME six A.M?

                                 NURIKO (TEL.)
                    We've had a breakthrough in the
                    investigation.  If you could come to
                    the station at once --

                                     PRISS
                    Sure, sure, sure ... I'll be there
                    in twenty minutes.

                                 NURIKO (TEL.)
                    Than--  

PRISS hangs up, yawns, and gets up out of bed.  

Cut to the posh room.  RANMA, SHAMPOO, and RAYE have not moved since we  
left them.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    In any event, not long after you
                    became a bigamist, I felt compelled
                    to investigate why Ukyou had not
                    attempted to interfere in your final
                    wedding to Akane.  My investigation
                    was rather profitable -- I found out
                    all that you have related to us.

                                     RANMA
                    You did?

                                    SHAMPOO
                    Or, to be more accurate, I found out
                    that that was what Ukyou wanted you
                    to believe was the case. BEAT The
                    truth was similar, but contained a
                    grave difference.  Ukyou told you
                    that she had been cured of her
                    mental problems.  That was not the
                    complete case.  She had been cured
                    of the disease that had *caused* the
                    mental problems.  They themselves
                    still troubled her.

                                     RANMA
                    How'd you find out all --

                                    SHAMPOO
                    Most of it, I worked out from the
                    files of information on her mental
                    health that her `therapist' wrote
                    before she abandoned therapy.
                    BEAT  I stole them, and found out
                    a lot more about her psychology than
                    I ever wanted to know.  

SHAMPOO abruptly stands up, and walks to stare out the window.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    It was awful.  And the worst part
                    was that I had no one to trust with
                    the knowledge.  You wouldn't have
                    believed me.  Obabasama would have
                    told me to kill her -- to cut her
                    down like a mad dog.  But you would
                    have defended her, and I knew that I
                    was not ready to defeat you.  I had
                    found friends ... but I did not want
                    to add to their burdens with this
                    knowledge.  BEAT So, I watched as
                    she continued to enjoy your respect,
                    while I was hated and despised.  She
                    even reconciled with Akane ... or at
                    least, let Akane think that she was
                    all right with matters.  BEAT  And
                    then a certain group made the fatal
                    mistake of offering her anti-
                    agathics.

                                     RAYE
                    It seemed like a good idea at the
                    time.  You, Ranma and Akane were
                    naturally long-lived due to the
                    Jyusenkyo.  Lita and Ukyou became
                    pretty good friends in the wake of
                    the crisis in Nerima, and she was
                    sponsored for agency ... and you
                    sort of failed to warn us that she
                    wasn't entirely sane.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    I hoped that she'd die in your
                    service.  BEAT  In any case, when
                    you moved the Joketsuzoku to Mars in
                    2023, Ukyou came along, claiming
                    that she was seeking her spatula-
                    heir.  In reality, she was seeking
                    to learn our secret tech--

                                     RANMA
                    Oh, come *on*.  If she'd wanted to
                    learn the Joketsuzoku techniques,
                    she could have asked *me*.  

SHAMPOO turns back to look pityingly at RANMA.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    SIGH And you would have wanted to
                    know *why* she wanted to learn how
                    to do the Tenshin Amaurigaken with
                    her spat, and she couldn't tell you
                    that she was seeking to liberate you
                    from the demon that secretly ruled
                    your life, now could she?  You would
                    have misunderstood.  BEAT  In any
                    event, Ukyou learned many of the
                    secrets of my people.  The years
                    passed, and she aged only a little.
                    By the mid-2040s the Joketsuzoku
                    were joined on Mars by the first
                    colonizers, and the Nu Ucchan's was
                    one of the first restaurants opened
                    in Graviton City.  BEAT Another
                    two decades passed ... and a pair of
                    travellers from Earth came to visit
                    an old friend.  They didn't pay any
                    calls on another old friend on
                    Mars --

                                     RANMA
                    Because you weren't our friend!

                                    SHAMPOO
                    -- and when you went to leave,
                    the disaster occured.  BEAT  Why
                    was it that you weren't on board
                    the shuttle when it blew up, Ranma?

                                     RANMA
                    I ... I was paged ... there was a
                    call for me at one of the phones in
                    the terminal ...

                                    SHAMPOO
                    And why didn't the airport comm
                    officer transfer the call to the
                    phone on board the shuttle?
                    BEAT  I answer my own question --
                    he was bribed.

                                     RANMA
                    How --

                                    SHAMPOO
                    I beat it out of him.  

RAYE looks at her with an exasperated expression.

                                     RANMA
                    Okay ... so the phoney phone call
                    that I got was a little irregular,
                    you still can't tie Ucchan to any
                    of this.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    The man who bribed the comm officer
                    worked at the Nu Ucchan's.  He was
                    also a known member of the Free
                    Mars movement, which may have been
                    why he was recruited, to throw an
                    ordinary investigator off the scent.
                    *I* wasn't fooled for a minute, of
                    course.

                                     RANMA
                    Of course.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    So I went to ask Ukyou whether or not
                    she'd done it.  

RANMA and RAYE stare at her, shocked.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    She already knew that I hated her.
                    I had nothing to lose but my life.
                    BEAT She confessed to everything.

                                     RANMA
                    You're out of your mind!  

SHAMPOO crosses the distance between them in an instant, and leans over  
him.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    NO, Saotome, I'm *not*.  She said,
                    `Of course I blew up the shuttle
                    that Akane was on, Shampoo.'

                                     RANMA
                    She was making a j--

                                    SHAMPOO
                    You were still in the hospital from
                    the blast!  Do you think she would
                    joke about something like that?

                                     RANMA
                    If she was as insane as you're
                    making her out to be --

                                    SHAMPOO
                    There was always a pattern to her
                    acts, Ranma.  She was completely,
                    utterly, and psychotically dedicated
                    to the vision of your well-being
                    that she had conceived.  BEAT  I
                    will not repeat those of her plans
                    that she told me about that day.
                    Suffice it to say that you would
                    have gone mad within a year.

                                     RANMA
                    And how the hell did this pattern
                    include telling you all this?

                                    SHAMPOO
                    She wanted to provoke me into
                    challenging her.  She believed that
                    the techniques that she'd learned
                    would give her the edge in our final
                    conflict.  BEAT  That is to say,
                    she *mistakenly* believed --

                                     RANMA
                    Why?  

SHAMPOO ticks off the points on her hand.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    One.  Eliminate one she saw as a
                    rival -- even a potential one -- for
                    your affections.  Two.  Eliminate
                    one who was aware of her madness.
                    Three.  Ukyou really hated me.

                                     RANMA
                    Okay, bright eyes, then how come you
                    didn't challenge her?  What happened
                    to the Amazon "never-ever-back-down"
                    way?

                                    SHAMPOO
                    It learned a measure of subtlety,
                    from the devious outlanders it came
                    into contact with.  

RANMA makes sarcastic injured noises.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    Since I knew that I could have made
                    her into ramen with *very* little
                    difficulty, knowing as I did the
                    counter to every secret technique
                    she had learnt, I chose to retreat
                    instead.  If I had dealt with her
                    as I wanted to, I would have seemed
                    to be in the wrong.  Instead I made
                    certain plans.  

RANMA's eyes bulge out.

                                     RANMA
                    You did.  My God, you *did*.  You
                    *did* set her up to fight Cologne!  

SHAMPOO stares at him impassively.  

Cut to TENCHI's sleeping face.  His eyes slowly open, and he rolls over  
... to see AYEKA's sleeping, smiling face.  TENCHI is shocked.  He starts  
to move out of AYEKA's clutches.  AYEKA's eyes remain closed and her smile  
doesn't change as she speaks.

                                     AYEKA
                    Don't move, Tenchi.  I've waited
                    long enough to get this close to
                    you, I'm not letting you go just
                    yet.

                                    TENCHI
                    Ayeka ...

                                     AYEKA
                    Do you remember how much I cried?

                                    TENCHI
                    Yes, Ayeka.  And each tear hurt me
                    just as much as they did you ...

                                     AYEKA
                    I know.  BEAT  I think you have
                    two virtues that make one curse,
                    Tenchi.  An overly gentle nature and
                    an iron sense of duty.  I don't know
                    how you manage to live with them
                    both.

                                    TENCHI
                    The same way that I was going to
                    live with -- BEAT  How can you
                    forgive me?

                                     AYEKA
                    I love you.  It comes naturally.

                                    TENCHI
                    You shouldn't do this sort of thing.

                                     AYEKA
                    Nothing happened, Tenchi.

                                    TENCHI
                    The scandal mongers wouldn't think
                    so.

                                     AYEKA
                    SAD Do you truly care so much for
                    your --

                                    TENCHI
                    Not for mine.  For yours.  BEAT I
                    love you too much to let them paint
                    you as a concubine, Ayeka.  It's bad
                    enough having to watch them snub
                    Ryouko because they think she's one.

                                     AYEKA
                    FAINT I know.  Just let me rest
                    here in your arms ...  

AYEKA is silent for a moment after trailing off, and then begins to snore  
delicately.  TENCHI smiles at her, and gently presses a kiss on her  
forehead, which makes her smile broaden.  TENCHI leans back into the  
pillows.

                                    TENCHI
                    SOTTO VOCE I wonder how she got
                    Ryouko out of the way ...  

Cut to a balcony on the side of the Crystal Palace.  It is a cold, gray  
morning.  RYOUKO is perched on the railing, shivering slightly.

                                    RYOUKO
                    "Meet you back at the balcony," she
                    said.  "We'll pick up where we left
                    off," she said.  "I liked the way
                    the conversation was going," she
                    said.  BEAT I'll give her fifteen
                    more minutes, and then I'm out of
                    here.  

Cut to the posh room.  SHAMPOO has not moved from where we left her, but  
RANMA has gotten up and is only being held back from doing her bodily harm  
by RAYE's held Mars Flame Sniper, with which she is targetting him.

                                     RAYE
                    One move, one hint of a ki build up,
                    Saotome, and we'll see just how
                    immortal you really are.

                                     RANMA
                    I can move faster than you can even
                    think, Senshi.

                                     RAYE
                    I don't *need* to think to let this
                    go.  BEAT  Sit down.  

RANMA sits, his battle aura still very much in evidence.

                                     RANMA
                    I can't believe you're letting a
                    self-admitted murderer --

                                     RAYE
                    As I said.  She's my friend.  BEAT;
                    MORE TO SHAMPOO THAN RANMA Even
                    when she pulls surprises like *this*
                    out of her bag of tricks without
                    telling me about them ...

                                    SHAMPOO
                    I was saving it for a rainy day ...

                                     RANMA
                    You set Ucchan up to die.  Yes or
                    no?

                                    SHAMPOO
                    One thing at a time, Ranma.  BEAT
                    You recovered in the Graviton City
                    Hospital, under Ukyou's careful
                    supervision.  She eased you through
                    the worst of your anguish at having
                    lost Akane to the one opponent that
                    you could not def--

                                     RANMA
                    SKIP THE GODDAMN POETRY!

                                    SHAMPOO
                    Ukyou slowly but surely worked her
                    way back into your heart.  I don't
                    know all the details of how you and
                    she finally came together, and I
                    don't want to.  By 2065, the two of
                    you were right on the verge of
                    making it legal. BEAT  And then
                    the Senshi called you back to Earth
                    for a final mission.  

RAYE decides that RANMA isn't going to attack SHAMPOO any time soon, and  
lets her Mars Flame Sniper down.  Her hand is still glowing red.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    It wasn't long after you left that
                    Ukyou learned of her pregnancy.  The
                    mission proved to be of greater
                    complexity than they had imagined,
                    and you were so far undercover that
                    you couldn't get in touch with Ukyou
                    at all.  The weeks stretched into
                    months.  Kuonji Gennosuke was born,
                    January 16, 2066.  And then the
                    false news of your death in that
                    secret martial arts tournament came
                    to us.  BEAT  If I had been a bit
                    wiser, I would have declared all
                    debts null and void, told Ukyou to
                    take your daughter and get the hell
                    of Mars.  But I wasn't.  

SHAMPOO turns to look back out at the stars, and the Earth (which is  
measurably smaller in the window than it had been).  RANMA shifts in his  
seat, and RAYE glares at him.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    Perhaps it was the thought of your
                    daughter in a madwoman's care that
                    made me do it.  Perhaps it was just
                    me being who and what I am.  BEAT
                    Decades before this, when I had
                    first duelled Cologne to take her
                    place on the council of Joketsuzoku
                    elders, I had spared her life on
                    one condition -- henceforth, in any
                    battle that I held an interest in,
                    she would win or lose as I saw fit.
                    BEAT I told her the story that I
                    have told you, and told her, when
                    the time came, to win.  A forged
                    note from one of Ukyou's informants
                    among the Joketsuzoku, saying
                    "Cologne knows all", took care of
                    the rest.  

SHAMPOO turns to look at RANMA, who is glaring at her with a fury unlike  
any that he's ever shown before.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    And then, being you, you turned up
                    alive, well, and more powerful than
                    ever.  And you were as angry then
                    as you are now.

                                     RANMA
                    Oh no.  No I wasn't.  

SHAMPOO continues as if she hadn't heard him.  Her eyes are far away.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    The warriors of Cologne's school
                    formed a human wall to keep you from
                    her.  You moved through them like a
                    hot blade through butter, and stood
                    before her at last.  She had known
                    you were coming -- and she was ready
                    for you.  BEAT  The Martian
                    heavens rang with the sound of your
                    battle --  

RANMA casually breaks the table and chess board by tapping it with a  
single finger.

                                     RANMA
                    I know what happened.  I was there.
                    Skip the poetry, I said.  

SHAMPOO stares at the ruins of the table in shock.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    How --

                                     RANMA
                    Practice.  BEAT  In short, what
                    you're saying is that you set up the
                    murder of a woman I loved, who had
                    given birth to one of my children,
                    because you *thought* that she had
                    killed Akane.  TO RAYE Great
                    friend.  You must feel special.  

RAYE looks at SHAMPOO with a faintly disturbed expression.

                                     RAYE
                    Shampoo ... is this all there is?
                    Is there anything that you can say
                    in your defense?  

SHAMPOO is silent for a long moment.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    One thing.  BEAT  Have you never
                    wondered, Saotome Ranma, why it was
                    that in the years between your
                    marriage to Akane and my humbling of
                    Cologne, that my attempts to ...
                    interfere in your relationship
                    decreased in number?

                                     RANMA
                    ICILY At the time I thought you'd
                    gotten it through your head that I
                    wasn't interested.  Evidently --  

SHAMPOO shakes her head, and there is a long pause.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    ACCENTED This part of story need
                    be told this way.  No can tell
                    otherways.  BEAT  Realize, with
                    final marriage, that Ranma love
                    Akane.  Is shock.  Akane *beat*
                    Shampoo in war of hearts.  Should
                    give kiss of death?  No ... Ranma
                    protect.  Realize, after first
                    week of marriage, that Akane only
                    win *battle* of hearts.  Not war.
                    War can still be won.  If Shampoo
                    learn *how* Akane win battle,
                    Shampoo prevent ever winning again.
                    Stop fluke.  So study Akane.
                    Study carefully her ways.  

As SHAMPOO continues to speak, her accent becomes less and less  
distinctive, fading out completely in her final words.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    Shampoo know already that Akane not
                    equal in true battle.  So how she
                    win?  Slowly, Shampoo came to see
                    parts of Akane's person that she
                    had not seen before.  She saw kind
                    nature, often hidden by rage that
                    she was learning to control.  She
                    saw a courage equal to that of the
                    bravest person that Shampoo had
                    ever known.  She saw someone that
                    she could have liked ... if she
                    wasn't in the way of what Shampoo
                    thought she wanted.  In the end,
                    I saw someone ... that I wanted to
                    be like.  

RANMA is staring at her, clearly bewhildered by this vocal performance.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    So I went before the other Elders of
                    the tribe, and told them the whole
                    tale of my dealings with Saotome
                    Ranma and Tendou Akane, and asked
                    them to dissolve the three ties I
                    had to you:  the kisses of death I
                    had given to her and your girl form,
                    and the declaration of marital
                    intent I had given to you.  BEAT
                    As I expected, they did not give me
                    permission to end my engagement to
                    you, Ranma.  As Cologne did, they
                    valued the potential children of
                    our union too much to let you slip
                    by.  With regards to your female
                    form, they strongly urged me to take
                    any steps necessary to reverse your
                    curse -- which I was planning on
                    doing anyway -- and in the event
                    that I was unable to do so, undid
                    the blood feud.  

SHAMPOO turns to stare out the window again.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    I was reprimanded for having given
                    the kiss of death to Akane.  After
                    all, she had never beaten me in
                    any concrete way.  And the elders
                    were intrigued by the tales that
                    I told of her.  For you see, it is
                    only if an outsider woman defeats
                    a Joketsuzoku that she must die.
                    Other women ... are sometimes
                    welcomed into the tribe.  BEAT
                    In short, Akane was declared a
                    provisional Joketsuzoku --

                                     RANMA
                    SHE WAS WHAT?!

                                    SHAMPOO
                    -- and the penalty for the murder of
                    a provisional Joketsuzoku, prior to
                    her formal initiation, is death.  

RANMA stares, boggled, at SHAMPOO.

                                     RANMA
                    You *murdered* Ukyou ... because you
                    thought that she'd killed Akane ...
                    whom you suddenly decided that you
                    *liked*?

                                    SHAMPOO
                    Grossly oversimplified, but more or
                    less true.  

RANMA turns to stare at RAYE, who meets his gaze calmly.

                                     RANMA
                    And you're *buying* this?

                                     RAYE
                    HESITANTLY Shampoo ... can you
                    back any of this up with evidence?

                                    SHAMPOO
                    Most of my explanation, yes.  Any of
                    my theory, no.  BEAT  The papers I
                    mentioned have long since gone to
                    dust, but the archives of the
                    Council of the Joketsuzoku Elders
                    will bear out the part of the story
                    involving Akane's unknown induction
                    to the clan.

                                     RAYE
                    I see.

                                     RANMA
                    *I* don't.  How can you just stand
                    there and listen to how she planned
                    and executed a conspiracy to commit
                    murder?  

RAYE gives RANMA a look of mixed disgust and exhaustion.

                                     RAYE
                    Saotome, where are we?

                                     RANMA
                    On a spaceship heading to --

                                     RAYE
                    Mars -- a planet where I have no
                    jurisdiction.  I am in pursuit of a
                    fugitive from my Queen's Justice,
                    and one of the Princes of Mars has
                    graciously consented to let me
                    pursue her onto Martian soil.  As
                    Shampoo recently said, Joketsuzoku
                    law is the basis of the Martian
                    legal code -- and so, if the act
                    that she performed nearly eight
                    hundred years ago was not a criminal
                    act in the eyes of the Joketsuzoku,
                    the authorities are unlikely to turn
                    Shampoo -- who I believe possesses
                    folk hero status among the Martians?

                                    SHAMPOO
                    Last time I checked ...

                                     RAYE
                    So you see my problem.  They're not
                    likely to let me arrest her.

                                     RANMA
                    This *stinks*.  You're letting her
                    walk after she admitted to having
                    planned --

                                     RAYE
                    Saotome, why are you so unwilling to
                    even listen to Shampoo's reasons?
                    You've completely dismissed any
                    possibility that she might be
                    telling the truth!  

RANMA glares at RAYE.

                                     RANMA
                    Let me ask you something.  Suppose
                    someone said that your Queen had
                    done something terrible, but this
                    someone was someone you really,
                    really hated -- who'd been a thorn
                    in your side for a thousand years.
                    BEAT  Would you believe it?

                                     RAYE
                    No.  BEAT  But there's a problem
                    in your logic, Saotome.  The last
                    time I checked, Shampoo hasn't been
                    a thorn in your side for a thousand
                    years.  When did you see her last?

                                     RANMA
                    That's not the point!

                                     RAYE
                    ANGRY She's left you alone for
                    the better part of eight hundred
                    years, you insensitive jerk, so
                    don't start whining about thousands
                    of years to me!  

RANMA comes to his feet in the blink of an eye, and his battle aura is  
fully active.  RAYE cooly meets his gaze.

                                     RAYE
                    Well?  What are you waiting for?
                    After all, beating up people who
                    like Shampoo is almost as fun as
                    beating *her* up, isn't it?  Come
                    on!  Prove you're a man!  A manly
                    man!  

RANMA looks like he's about to explode ... then slowly his aura fades, and  
he marches towards a pair of doors on the far side of the compartment,  
which slide open to let him past, and slide shut behind him.  RAYE looks  
on with a satisfied expression.

                                     RAYE
                    Showed him ...

                                    SHAMPOO
                    VERY COLD That wasn't necessary.  

RAYE turns to look at SHAMPOO, who is glaring at her furiously.

                                     RAYE
                    Shampoo ...

                                    SHAMPOO
                    We're going to need him, when we get
                    to Mars in a few hours.  And more to
                    the point, no matter what he's done
                    to me, *I* *still* *care*. BEAT I
                    can no more stop caring about him
                    than you can stop loving your Queen
                    when she does things that you
                    disagree with.  And gods know you've
                    told me enough times how often she
                    does that. BEAT And it was *four*
                    hundred years, not eight.  

SHAMPOO suddenly heads for the door that RANMA just exited, but turns down  
the passage in the opposite direction than the way that he went.  RAYE  
stares at the doors, nonplussed.  Our view focuses on the scattered chess  
board.  One of the white knights has broken in half.  

Cut to a city street in Crystal Tokyo, down by the waterfront.  The sky is  
still thick with cold gray clouds, and the entire ambience screams that  
it's about to rain, but it hasn't started just yet.  A sallow-faced man in  
a black trenchcoat (TRAKAL) walks down the street, before ducking into the  
front door of a large building, whose sign proclaims it the Hidalgo Mining  
Company, Closed for Repairs.  

The interior of the building has been converted to a temporary staging  
area for several stolen police Labors, which are currently being gone over  
by several teams of technicians, who seem to be preparing schematics.   
Watching over this is the figure of DZARTENKIN, a large man with a full  
bushy beard and a bald head, who is watching with amusement.  He turns at  
the noise of TRAKAL's entrance.  DZARTENKIN speaks with a "cinematic"  
Russian accent.

                                  DZARTENKIN
                    HEAVY SARCASM Ah!  Trakal, my dear
                    friend, so *nice* of you to join us
                    so *promptly* --

                                    TRAKAL
                    We may have been busted.

                                  DZARTENKIN
                    SHARP How?

                                    TRAKAL
                    One of my agents at Immigration got
                    word to me that Internal Affairs
                    was doing a crackdown, and that he
                    expected to be taken for the false
                    I.D.s he's issued us.

                                  DZARTENKIN
                    Zdrastvyute!  We're this close to
                    cracking the secret!  

He indicates a minute amount of time with his fingers, and then runs his  
hands through his beard.

                                  DZARTENKIN
                    How long will your agent hold out?

                                    TRAKAL
                    He won't.  But he only knows that he
                    was contacted by agents of one of
                    the better known Anti-Monarchist
                    secret societies, since that's what
                    I let him think that we were.  We
                    have a few hours before they figure
                    out what we *really* are.  

There is a sudden explosion of noise, as though several hundred police  
sirens have suddenly blazed to life.  DZARTENKIN jumps.

                              NURIKO (AMP, O.S.)
                    Attention!  This is the Police!  We
                    have you surrounded!  Come out at
                    once, or we will be forced to come
                    in after you.  

DZARTENKIN looks at TRAKAL with a betrayed expression.  TRAKAL's own  
expression doesn't change.

                                    TRAKAL
                    Huh.  Wrong for the first time this
                    century.  

Outside, dozens of hovercars have encircled the building at several  
altitudes.  On the ground, seven large Labors, each slightly larger than  
the ones being examined in the building, have their large blasters trained  
on the entrance.  

NURIKO is standing up in the sliding top window of one of the hovercars  
with a bullhorn at her mouth.  NOA is at the wheel, looking pensive, while  
PRISS is in the passenger seat, covering her ears with her hands (even  
though her ears, like both NOA's and NURIKO's, are already protected.)

                                     PRISS
                    So these guys are actually agents
                    for a foreign government?

                                      NOA
                    Yes.  Your suggestion that the
                    thefts were an inside job prompted
                    the Internal Affairs department to
                    do a complete sweep.  BEAT Just
                    in time, too, with the vote coming
                    up ...

                                     PRISS
                    But why would they want to get
                    ahold of --

                                      NOA
                    Perhaps rumors of the Centauri
                    Republic's vast Mobile Suit forces
                    are greatly exaggerated.  BEAT
                    Nuriko, has there been any movement
                    yet?

                                    NURIKO
                    No ... wait a minute ... scanners
                    picking up a buildup in sector --  

The right front of the building disintegrates in a blinding flash that  
also takes out of the nearby Patrol Labors, knocking it down for the  
count.  One of the stolen Labors, carrying a large energy cannon that is  
mounted on its right arm, bounds out of the hole that it has just blown,  
and starts to target another of the Patrol Labors.  (It needs to be  
emphasized that the stolen Labor is moving with MUCH greater fluidity and  
speed than the others.)

                                      NOA
                    All units, Evasive Scramble!  
The hovercars immediately begin to move out of their encirclement, trying  
to avoid stray fire from the firefight that has begun below, as several of  
the Patrol Labors bring their weapons to bear on the rogue, and begin  
firing.

                                      NOA
                    OUTRAGED WHICHEVER ONE OF THOSE
                    IDIOTS STARTED FIRING FIRST IS
                    GOING TO BE EATING HIS BADGE FOR
                    LUNCH!

                                    NURIKO
                    Chief, I think *they* fired first!

                                      NOA
                    Is it Alphonse?!  

PRISS mouths the word with a confused expression.

                                    NURIKO
                    No.  One of the others.

                                      NOA
                    All right.  We'll let it go.  THIS
                    time.  

The stolen Labor collapses under the massed blaster fire from the Patrol  
Labors, its torso burnt and melted.  Another stolen Labor ducks out of the  
hole in the building, getting off several shots from a heavy rifle, before  
ducking back in.  The car with PRISS, NOA, and NURIKO is now high above  
the firefight.

                                     PRISS
                    Let me guess -- milspec weaponry?

                                      NOA
                    A familiar situation to you too?

                                     PRISS
                    Yeah ... but we had some heavy gear
                    of our own back then.

                                      NOA
                    So do we.  Is Ikari ready?  

NURIKO touches a hand to the headset.

                                    NURIKO
                    On your orders.  

NOA closes her eyes, and lets out a long breath.

                                      NOA
                    Execute.  

At her word, a hoverplatform drops down from the sky rapidly, carrying a  
single Patrol Labor and a heavy tripod mounted laser rifle with multiple  
emitters (it looks like a gatling gun) that promptly opens up at the  
partially covered stolen Labor.  The rogue gets off several shots before  
going down, one of which hits the platform's controls, causing it to spin  
out of control, dumping the Labor and rifle to the ground before dropping  
into the bay.

                                      NOA
                    Is he --  

NURIKO is silent for a long moment.

                                    NURIKO
                    Banged up, but alive.  

NOA lets out a deep sigh of relief, then notices that PRISS is looking at  
her confusedly.

                                      NOA
                    Ikari Kaoru was on guard duty the
                    night of the thefts.  He viewed them
                    as a personal affront ... and was
                    very insulted that the thieves only
                    disabled his Labor, instead of
                    killing him.  BEAT  Death is light
                    as a feather, duty heavier than a
                    mountain.  Or so some believe.  

PRISS looks as though she's trying to decide whether or not she's been  
insulted.

                                      NOA
                    Two down, two to go.

                                    NURIKO
                    Maybe not.  Sensors indicate that
                    there's only one large body inside.

                                      NOA
                    No.  Dammit, they can't have gotten
                    one of them off-world this soon.

                                    NURIKO
                    No ... but they're getting it
                    disassembled in a hurry.  

NOA is very still, then nods.

                                      NOA
                    Taking us down.  

The car descends to ground level, wheels lowering from the chassis a  
second before touchdown.  NOA steps out of the drivers side, carrying a  
heavy helmet in one hand and a large pistol in the other.  She grimly puts  
on the helmet, fastening it tightly.  PRISS rolls down the window.

                                     PRISS
                    Hey, could I get an update here?

                                      NOA
                    There's a fifty-fifty chance that
                    the Labor they've got left is my
                    personal Labor.  I'm going in to
                    find out for sure.

                                     PRISS
                    Okay ... what if it is?

                                      NOA
                    Then I'm going to bring him back.

                                     PRISS
                    And what if it's not?

                                      NOA
                    Then they've murdered him, and I'm
                    going to tear *them* apart.  Slowly.  

Inside the now burnt out building, several technicians are scrambling over  
a labor, trying to get it in perfect order.  TRAKAL watches over them,  
almost seeming to pout at the way things are going.  Suddenly, one of the  
mechanics dashes over to him.

                                   MECHANIC
                    Sir, we've got it up and ready.

                                    TRAKAL
                    Good.  Mr. Ramirez, you're a credit
                    to your profession and to the cause
                    of Centauri.  

The MECHANIC salutes reflexively.

                                   MECHANIC
                    Allegiance or death!

                                     TRAKAL
                    Both, actually.  

TRAKAL produces a holdout gun and shoots him, and begins to mow down the  
other techs with a series of well-placed shots.  Finally, he drops the  
gun, reaches up to his head, and pulls away his face -- actually a very  
life-like mask -- revealing himself to be a semi-humanoid alien who bears  
a vague resemblance to a rodent crossed with a canine.  TRAKAL now leaps  
up to land in the Labor's exposed control console.  He seats himself, and  
the console lowers into the main body of the Labor.  In the darkness of 
the cockpit, he straps himself in, and puts on a helmet similar to the 
one NOA is wearing, which he connects to the control panel.  He clasps 
his hands, and closes his eyes in concentration.  Outside, the Labor 
comes to life, just as NOA rushes into the staging area.  She looks up.

                                      NOA
                    Alphonse!

                                 TRAKAL (AMP)
                    So this is the neuropsychoimpulse
                    operating sytem ... very clever of
                    you monkeys to have come up with
                    this.

                                      NOA
                    Operative Trakal of Centauri
                    Intelligence, I presume?

                                 TRAKAL (AMP)
                    I see no reason to deny it.  You
                    certainly won't be able to make a
                    report of my remarks.

                                      NOA
                    Then it's true that the Centauri
                    still haven't mastered thought
                    control.

                                 TRAKAL (AMP)
                    Oh, they're very close ... but you
                    monkeys managed to get there first.
                    But like the history of your species
                    in the galaxy proves, it's not who
                    got there first, but who wrote up
                    the deeds.  After the Centauri put
                    the thought control in all their
                    mobile suits, I imagine that it will
                    have been a Centauri invention all
                    along.

                                      NOA
                    You just don't get it, do you?  Time
                    and again it's been shown that it's
                    not the technical tricks that win
                    a conflict, it's the heart and soul
                    of the one struggling.  That's what
                    determines the victory -- not a new
                    operating system that's filled with
                    flaws, anyway.

                                 TRAKAL (AMP)
                    Like what?

                                      NOA
                    Like, the controls tend to attune
                    themselves to a single pattern of
                    thoughts.  And that in Alphonse's
                    case, that pattern is mine.

                                 TRAKAL (AMP)
                    So what you're saying is that you,
                    because you're `attuned' to the
                    system, are going to be able to
                    take control of this thing from
                    me, when I'm actually hooked into
                    it?  BARKS Don't make me laugh.

                                      NOA
                    Here's where we find out.  

NOA quickly reaches up to flick a switch on the back of her helmet, and  
her face clenches in concentration.  Inside, TRAKAL is startled to see  
that the control panels are starting to go berserk.  He snarls, and begins  
to concentrate himself.  A savage battle of wills ensues -- there are  
several closeups of NOA and TRAKAL's faces, sweat beginning to pour down  
their brows, TRAKAL's eye beginning to twitch, ultimately leading to a  
sudden explosion of blood in NOA's nose that causes her to let out a  
shrill cry and collapse.  TRAKAL relaxes for a moment, clearly exhausted.

                                    TRAKAL
                    Guess ... *my* heart and soul ...
                    is better than yours ... monkey.  

One of Alphonse's arms lifts up halfway, clenched in a fist ... then  
suddenly stops.

                                    TRAKAL
                    What?  

TRAKAL exerts himself, and the fist comes further up ... but it seems to  
be quivering.

                                    TRAKAL
                    What's going *on* here?  What's
                    fighting me?  

TRAKAL strains, and the fist swings out to hover just a few feet over  
NOA's collapsed body.  TRAKAL continues to strain, but the fist just  
quivers.

                                    TRAKAL
                    FURIOUS WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!
                    CRUSH HER YOU STUPID GIANT ROBO--  

TRAKAL's cockpit suddenly shoots up to become exposed, and his words are  
suddenly cut off as Alphonse's arm bends back smoothly, delicately plucks  
him from the cockpit, and flings him at high speed against the wall.   
There is a splurting noise as he hits off camera.  NOA lifts her head,  
still bleeding from her nose and obviously a bit out of it.

                                      NOA
                    Well ... well.  I guess all those
                    theories were right.  BEAT  Good
                    baby.  Good Alphonse.  

NOA loses consciousness.  Slowly, Alphonse takes a step forward.  It bends  
down to give the appearance of looking at NOA.  It slowly, ever so slowly  
reaches down to pick her up, and moves her up to set her in the cockpit,  
which is then slowly lowered back into the body.  Alphonse then seems to  
power down.  

Cut to a Martian spaceport.  RANMA storms out of a passageway and into the  
main concourse, which is filled with people dressed in traditional  
Joketsuzoku garb holding up signs saying "Welcome Revered Elder" and  
chanting SHAMPOO's Chinese name.  RAYE and SHAMPOO follow a few seconds  
later, not looking at each other.  SHAMPOO looks more resigned than  
anything in response to the outpouring of "affection".  She tries to work  
her way through the crowd, but encounters difficulties in getting past a  
certain group of her "fans" -- who oddly resemble Lum's Storm Troopers --  
until RAYE comes to help her out, physically moving the people who are  
trying to come into contact with the greatest warrior that the Joketsuzoku  
have ever produced.  SHAMPOO gives RAYE a weary smile of thanks, and they  
make their way through the crowds, reuniting with RANMA (who seems to have  
gotten through unmolested and unobserved) on the other side.

                                     RAYE
                    Your contacts said that Gennosuke
                    landed at the Barsoom spaceport a
                    little over three hours ago.  TO
                    RANMA How far is Barsoom from where
                    you buried Ms. Kuonji?  

RANMA thinks for a moment.

                                     RANMA
                    No idea.

                                     RAYE
                    STARES Are you going out of your
                    way to be difficult or --

                                    SHAMPOO
                    Mars.

                                     RAYE
                    -- do you just not care what will
                    happen if your vampire daughter uses
                    the Dark Crystal to --

                                    SHAMPOO
                    Raye.  BEAT  Barsoom was only
                    founded four hundred fifty years
                    ago.  

RAYE looks wordlessly at SHAMPOO, then turns to look at RANMA, who is  
looking back at her with a bored yet annoyed expression.

                                     RANMA
                    Never been there, never wanted to be
                    there.

                                     RAYE
                    I see.  BEAT  How far is the grave
                    from Graviton City, and in what
                    direction?  

RANMA gives this question even more thought.

                                     RANMA
                    Roughly 250 kilos ... south-east.  

RAYE thinks for a moment.

                                     RAYE
                    Barsoom is a bit over five hundred
                    kilos east-north-east of here.
                    BEAT I presume that she knows the
                    location.

                                     RANMA
                    NODS I took her out there the last
                    time I visited, when she was
                    thirteen.

                                     RAYE
                    Okay.  She's got a lead, but we can
                    cut it down a bit.

                                     RANMA
                    Why not just teleport there?  I know
                    you can do that schtick.

                                     RAYE
                    We can, when we're inside Crystal
                    Tokyo's magical defense grid, or when
                    there's two or more of us acting in
                    tandem.  BEAT  It's been theorized
                    that it could also work if I had the
                    `assistance' of someone with a lot
                    of magic in their veins, but I'd
                    have to enter into a deep telepathic
                    link with whoever it was.  BEAT
                    And I'd really rather avoid going
                    into your mind, Saotome.  

During the following exchange, our focus is on SHAMPOO, as she looks back  
and forth between RANMA and RAYE, like someone watching a ping-pong match.

                                     RANMA
                    Not as much as I'd rather avoid
                    having *you* in *my* mind.

                                     RAYE
                    Of course.  Vile darkness always
                    fears purity and light.

                                     RANMA
                    My thoughts exactly.

                                     RAYE
                    I'm *so* glad we concur.

                                     RANMA
                    It happens *so* rarely.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    WEARY Are you finished with the
                    veilled insults yet?  You're cutting
                    our lead down to a few seconds ...  

RANMA and RAYE glare at each other.  SHAMPOO sighs.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    I'll go and get a car.  Try to get
                    them out of your system before I
                    get back.  

SHAMPOO strolls off.  RAYE follows her with her eyes, and then turns to  
look back at RANMA with a flat, unfriendly expression.  He meets her gaze  
easily.

                                     RANMA
                    You really don't like me.

                                     RAYE
                    I didn't when we met, and my
                    opinion hasn't changed in the years
                    since.  BEAT You are a pig-headed,
                    obnoxious, impolite, chauvinistic,
                    *jerk*.  I don't understand what she
                    sees in you.

                                     RANMA
                    Genes.  BEAT  Good genes for tough
                    warriors, on both sides.  A rarity
                    among the Joketsuzoku, but the basis
                    of one of their most sacred laws.
                    That's all that she or her great-
                    grandmother were ever concerned
                    with.  BEAT  I don't understand
                    what *you* see in *her*.  She's just
                    as pig-headed, obnoxious, impolite
                    and chauvinistic -- in terms of
                    culture *and* sex -- as you seem to
                    think that I am.  

RAYE steps towards RANMA, her eyes glowing dangerously.

                                     RAYE
                    When I was twenty-five years old,
                    the two people I loved most in the
                    world were taken from me in a single
                    night.  All I wanted to do was curl
                    up in a ball and die myself.  Do you
                    know who held me while I cried
                    myself senseless?  BEAT  She
                    *hates* that sort of thing.  Any
                    kind of female intimacy is abhorrent
                    to her.   She once told me that when
                    she glomped onto you in your girl
                    body, it was all that she could do
                    to stop herself from screaming.  

RANMA looks startled at this.

                                     RAYE
                    But she stayed with me all that
                    night.  BEAT  Have *you* ever done
                    something that you hated for someone
                    that you cared about, Saotome?  

RANMA stares at her in silence.

                                     RANMA
                    Yeah.

                                     RAYE
                    Then maybe once you understood the
                    concept of gratitude and respect,
                    but gods forbid that you ever show
                    any of it to the crazy chick from
                    China. 
 
RANMA takes a step towards RAYE.

                                     RANMA
                    She has done *nothing* to earn my
                    gratitude *or* my respect, Hino.

                                     RAYE
                    Oh yeah?  She kept your memories of
                    your precious `Ucchan' pure for
                    close to nine hundred years.

                                     RANMA
                    They are *still* pure.  I don't buy
                    word *one* of what her lying mouth
                    poured out.  

There is a honking noise off to one side.  SHAMPOO has rented a car that  
resembles an Aston-Martin with a hovercraft system instead of wheels.  It  
pulls up the curb at about a hundred kph (60 mph), braking very swiftly.   
SHAMPOO is seated behind the wheel with a maniacal expression.  RAYE and  
RANMA stare at her with vaguely frightened looks on their faces.

                                     RAYE
                    YELL *I'm* driving.  TO RANMA
                    Well, I hope you have a marvellous
                    life, Saotome.

                                     RANMA
                    Huh?  What are you -- BEAT You
                    need me to tell you where the --

                                     RAYE
                    No I don't.  You just told me.  250
                    kilometers, southeast of here.  The
                    only thing that we'd need you for
                    would be a more precise location.
                    It can't be that hard to find.

                                     RANMA
                    Wanna bet?

                                     RAYE
                    I *am* betting.  BEAT  I don't
                    like you, Saotome, and I don't need
                    you for *anything*.

                                     RANMA
                    I'm coming anyway.  I'm not gonna
                    let you kill my only surviving
                    daughter.  

RAYE turns to walk towards the car.  She speaks without looking at RANMA.

                                     RAYE
                    Come with us, or don't, exactly as
                    you please, Saotome.  

RAYE walks up to the driver's side, and gestures for SHAMPOO to slide  
over, which she reluctantly does.  RANMA stares at them for a few moments,  
then quickly walks over to silently open up the rear door and slide into  
the back seat.

                                     RANMA
                    Let's go.  

The car speeds off.  

Cut to the doorway of PRISS' appartment.  The large window in the doorway  
is marked with a number 5.  PRISS approaches it, yawning and seeming  
otherwise exhausted.  She pulls out her key, starts to fumble with the  
lock, and suddenly twists and draws her heavy combat pistol from its side  
holster on someone standing behind her, her face tight with anger.  Our  
view changes to display a certain MR. YOTSUYA (a tall robed man in his mid  
to late thirties with a constant bored expression) who is holding a  
stopwatch which he has just clicked.

                                    YOTSUYA
                    A remarkable display.  You exceed
                    the typical fast draw by at least
                    one half of a second.  

PRISS looks as though she is seriously considering pulling the trigger.   
Ultimately, she sighs, replaces the gun in its holster, and turns to  
continue opening her door.

                                     PRISS
                    No, Mr. Yotsuya, the party to
                    celebrate the outcome of the vote is
                    *not* gonna be in my room.  BEAT
                    Was there anything else you or your
                    alchoholic floozy wanted to know?  

ROPPONGI AKEMI (a redhead in a negligee that leaves very little to the  
imagination and who seems to be more than a little tanked) pops out from  
behind YOTSUYA, and gives PRISS the evil eye.

                                     AKEMI
                    That's not very neighborly ...

                                     PRISS
                    Neither was trying to lift the keys
                    to my bike and go for a joyride.  

PRISS finally gets the ancient lock to work, and steps into her  
appartment.

                                     PRISS
                    Do us all a favor.  Don't try and
                    break in.  

She goes into the appartment, shuts the door firmly behind her, and we  
hear the sound of several security measures -- deadbolts, electronic  
systems, and the like -- being set up.

                                     AKEMI
                    She's no fun at all.

                                    YOTSUYA
                    Ah, for the good old days.  

Inside, PRISS doffs her jacket, and slumps onto the bed.

                                     PRISS
                    Well, at least that's over.  BEAT
                    Maybe I should go vote.  BEAT Nah.  

PRISS turns her head to see the Journal.  She stares at it for a long  
moment, as if half expecting to have yet another hallucination of SYLIA's  
head.  Nothing happens, though.  PRISS slowly reaches out, lifts up the  
book, and rolling into a sitting position, sets it down in her lap.  She  
stares at it for another long moment, before opening the book to the first  
page.

                                 MACKIE (V.O.)
                    This journal was written over a
                    thirty year period by Dr. Katsuhito
                    Stingray, the father of modern
                    robotics, and his daughter, Dr.
                    Sylia Stingray, who is now known to
                    have created the Knight Sabres, and
                    who is widely believed to have been
                    personally responsible for the
                    nuclear explosion which devastated
                    Genom Tower four years ago.  Aside
                    from the commentary and footnotes,
                    there has been no editing of the
                    manuscript.  The original journal is
                    believed to be the only volume of
                    the journal of Dr. K. Stingray
                    (hereafter referred to as Dr.
                    Stingray, while his daughter shall
                    be referred to as Sylia) which
                    survives, comprising his reflections
                    from 2011, when he first began to
                    achieve the breakthroughs that would
                    eventually lead to the creation of
                    the first cyberdroids, to 2016, when
                    he turned the journal over to --  

PRISS abruptly begins to flip through the pages of the journal.

                                     PRISS
                    MUTTERED 2016, 2016 ...  

She arrives at the page.  [SYLIA (AGE 6) sounds much like SYLIA in a good  
mood, with just a bit of hyperactivity thrown in.]

                             SYLIA (AGE 6) (V.O.)
                    Daddy wants me to write in this book
                    every day, he says its very very
                    important.  BEAT But it's HARD to
                    write something every day!  I don't
                    wanna write "Nothing happened, same
                    as usual", all the time!  Momma said
                    I should just write how I feel, but
                    I don't know all the words for how I
                    feel sometimes ...

                                     PRISS
                    CHUCKLES Now there's something I
                    never thought I'd hear her say ...
                    `I don't know'.  

PRISS flips ahead a few more pages.  Something catches her eye.  [SYLIA  
(AGE 8) has gained a little more maturity and sounds a little sadder.]

                             SYLIA (AGE 8) (V.O.)
                    Momma is gone.  BEAT  Daddy has
                    said that she won't be coming back
                    from America.  She hasn't stopped
                    loving me, and it's not Mackie's
                    fault, and it's not Daddy's fault,
                    but she's not coming back.  BEAT
                    Why can't she come back?

                                 MACKIE (V.O.)
                    Footnote:  Rally Stingray (born
                    Irene Vincent) disappeared while on
                    a personal trip to the United States
                    in 2018.  She was never found alive
                    or dead, no ransom note was ever
                    delivered, and her fate remains a
                    mystery to this day.

                                     PRISS 
                   Geeze ...  

She flips a few more pages, and stares at one for several moments.  [SYLIA  
(AGE 12)'s emotional state is obvious and her maturity is irrelevant.]

                             SYLIA (AGE 12) (V.O.)
                    WHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?  

PRISS flinches, and turns a single page.

                             SYLIA (AGE 12) (V.O.)
                    Oh father father, what have you done
                    to me?  BEAT My mind feels as
                    though it should explodespontaneous
                    combustion never proven but I think
                    it may happen soon.  BEAT  The
                    hardest part is seeing your face as
                    he kills youmustdiemustdiemustdie
                    for you aren't afraid, you pretend
                    to be afraid, but in your eyes is
                    only the cool certainty of your
                    vengeanceburntheyburntheyburn.
                    BEAT Whose thoughts am I thinking
                    is this you, some part of you that
                    you have tricked fate into letting
                    preserve even after your mortality
                    is consumed by fireburnburnburn. Is
                    there room in my mind for me?  Or
                    are these horridbeautiful weapons
                    that you have given me the tools to
                    create meant to take my place?  

PRISS is growing more and more perplexed by all this.

                                     PRISS
                    What the hell?  

Cut to the throne room of Crystal Tokyo.  SERENITY is seated on the  
throne, her hands resting on the arms, as NOA (who looks like hell) and  
JUPITER enter and come to stand before her.

                                   SERENITY
                    Good day, Chief Izumi.  BEAT I
                    apologize for summoning you before
                    you have had a chance to recuperate
                    from your injuries.

                                      NOA
                    I'm all right, your Majesty.  Just
                    a bit ... exhausted.

                                   SERENITY
                    Yes, understandably.  Attempting to
                    interface with a thought controlled
                    mecha which is being dominated by
                    another mentality can be exceedingly
                    draining.  

NOA visibly swallows.

                                   SERENITY
                    Izumi, would you please explain to
                    me exactly how it came to pass that
                    a military system such as the neuro-
                    psychoimpulse operating system was
                    installed in your Patrol Labor?  

JUPITER coughs, drawing SERENITY's attention.

                                    JUPITER
                    If *I* may explain, your Majesty?

                                   SERENITY
                    If you are better able to, please do
                    so.

                                    JUPITER
                    Around three months ago, the Realm
                    Intelligence Agency uncovered an
                    incredible military secret of the
                    Centauri Republic -- while their
                    mobile suit fleet is vastly superior
                    to ours in numbers, they lack a
                    great deal of our fleet's technical
                    sophistication.  Notably, they had
                    not recaptured the neural interface
                    systems of previous eras.  In
                    theory, that evened up the odds in
                    any direct confrontation.

                                   SERENITY
                    A theory I would rather not see in
                    practice.

                                    JUPITER
                    Of course.  No more than would the
                    Centauri.  And our agents discovered
                    that the Centauri were aware that we
                    *had* discovered how to implement
                    direct thought control.  Naturally,
                    seeking to triumph in a potential
                    conflict with us with a minimum of
                    bloodshed on their part, they had
                    begun a project to acquire the
                    technology.  Interestingly enough,
                    the elements of the Centauri
                    government involved in this project
                    were closely allied with those
                    elements of their government which
                    had an interest in gaining control
                    over Earth and the Sol System.

                                   SERENITY
                    An understandable congruence of
                    interests, wouldn't you say?

                                    JUPITER
                    Indeed, your Majesty.  BEAT Of
                    course, our agents alerted Lady
                    Mars and Lady Mercury, who as
                    Commanding Admiral of the Fleet and
                    Chief Scientist of the Realm, held
                    the greatest responsibility for
                    preserving military technological
                    secrets. BEAT  They immediately
                    contacted me in the interest of
                    increasing security at any of our
                    installations which might be
                    targetted.  

JUPITER pauses as if she expects SERENITY to say something.  But SERENITY  
just gestures for JUPITER to continue.  With an uncomfortable expression, 
she does.

                                    JUPITER
                    I was already aware that the
                    Centauri had conducted alliances
                    with various anti-monarchist groups 
                    on Earth, and the beginnings of an
                    active espionage ring ... disturbed
                    me.  And then, as I was authorizing
                    an increase of security for the
                    Lunar base, it occured to me that
                    what we were doing was assuming a
                    defensive posture, as if we were
                    already under seige.  I wanted to
                    take a more aggressive stand.  And
                    that's when the plan developed.
                    We --

                                   SERENITY
                    You decided to install thought
                    control systems into Patrol Labors,
                    well aware that they are generally
                    kept under less intense guard than
                    Mobile Suits, in an effort to lure
                    the members of this espionage ring
                    into a trap?  

JUPITER pauses, considering, then nods quickly.

                                    JUPITER
                    If the agents had gone after the
                    Mobile Suits, they would quite
                    probably have been killed in their
                    efforts, and we wouldn't have had
                    any idea as to how many more that
                    we might have to deal with.  Since
                    the police are supposed to *catch*
                    criminals, I believed that it would
                    be more likely that they would be
                    intercepted for questioning.

                                   SERENITY
                    I see.  *Were* any of the agents
                    captured?

                                    JUPITER
                    NODS One of the pilots of the
                    stolen labors, a Mr. Dzartenkin,
                    whom we've had under surveillance
                    for some time as a potential agent
                    of the Centauri, suffered only minor
                    injuries in the battle.  Having
                    considered his options, he has
                    elected to tell all.  Of course,
                    we're verifying all that he reveals
                    with a psychic probe.  BEAT In any
                    event, after the theft of the labors
                    was successfully commissioned last
                    week, we realized that if we began
                    looking immediately for the agents
                    that had infiltrated the police, we
                    would alert them to our knowledge of
                    their existance.  So it was proposed
                    that a Palladin should be brought in
                    from outside.  Palladins, as your
                    Majesty is aware, are brought in 
                    because of their non-traditional way
                    of doing things.

                                   SERENITY
                    I see.  BEAT  Essentially, you
                    placed technology that could
                    potentially tip the balance of
                    power in the galaxy in easy reach
                    of the agents of an unfriendly
                    government, in the hope that they
                    would prove to be easily captured
                    and made to reveal the full extent
                    of their operations on Earth, and
                    used Ms. Asagiri to do *another*
                    fool's errand.  Is that correct?  

JUPITER nods once.  SERENITY turns to NOA.

                                   SERENITY
                    Have you anything to add, Chief
                    Izumi?

                                      NOA
                    Yes, your Majesty.  Two things.
                    BEAT The first, that I was the one
                    who approached Lady Jupiter with the
                    ideas she has described today, after
                    she had discreetly asked for input
                    as to how to handle the situation.  

SERENITY looks at JUPITER, who nods a second time.

                                      NOA
                    And the second is that as an
                    unforseen outcome of this affair, my
                    Labor has developed sentience.  

JUPITER clearly was not expecting this *at* *all*.  She whirls to look at  
NOA with a mixture of horror and awe on her face.  SERENITY is also  
surprised, but seems to be more interested in JUPITER's reaction than in  
the news itself.

                                   SERENITY
                    How extraordinary.  To what do you
                    credit this?

                                      NOA
                    The fact that the computer systems
                    of the Labor were constructed to
                    imitate the neural pathways of a
                    human brain, and so when they were
                    combined with the thought control
                    mechanism, the sudden input of data
                    previously unavailable forced them 
                    to develop sentience in order to be
                    able to handle the new information.
                    BEAT I also believe that the
                    fierce emotions that the developing
                    sentience was exposed to as the  
                    Operative and I struggled for control
                    of the system may have had something
                    to do with it, but this is not
                    supported by any theories about
                    self-awakening intelligences that I
                    am familiar with.

                                   SERENITY
                    Well.  I hope that you are ready to
                    assume responsibility for this new
                    intelligence which has been created.
                    BEAT In light of the fact that you
                    did, I am sure, take all reasonable
                    precautions to prevent the thought
                    control technology from being
                    misappropriated, despite the
                    necessity of it being briefly in
                    unfriendly hands, I find no fault in
                    your actions, Chief Izumi.  I hope,
                    however, that you considered all the
                    potential for disaster *before* you
                    suggested this strategy to Lady
                    Jupiter.

                                      NOA
                    Yes, your Majesty.  BEAT  If I may
                    ask, is it permissable to inform the
                    members of the Division what exactly
                    this affair was about?  Thus far,
                    the only ones who know about the
                    situation are my second, Lieutenant
                    Nuriko, and Chief of Maintenance 
                    Morisato.

                                   SERENITY
                    Of course.  They deserve to know,
                    beyond any doubt.

                                      NOA
                    Thank you, your Majesty.  BEAT
                    And Ms. Asagiri?  

JUPITER's face hardens.

                                    JUPITER
                    Ms. Asagiri does *not* have a need
                    to know this --

                                   SERENITY
                    MILD Oh?  

JUPITER turns to look at SERENITY, who is gazing at her placidly, and  
cannot quite meet her gaze.

                                   SERENITY
                    As the Palladin is not under your
                    supervision, you are not obligated
                    to do so, Chief Izumi.  Rest assured
                    that she *will* know, soon enough.

                                      NOA
                    Thank you, your Majesty.  Well, if
                    you'll excuse me, I've a new kid to
                    take care of ...  

NOA begins to back away from the throne.

                                   SERENITY
                    Yes, once more, congratulations on
                    the birth of your third child.  Has
                    he been given a name yet?  

NOA pauses, and looks a bit startled at SERENITY, who is gazing at her  
calmly.  NOA suddenly smiles.

                                      NOA
                    Actually, when he achieved a mental
                    age of about eight years, he decided
                    that he didn't like the name I'd
                    given him when he was born.  So he
                    chose a new one for himself.

                                   SERENITY
                    Remarkable.  And it was?

                                      NOA
                    Shinji.  BEAT  Good day, your
                    Majesty.  

SERENITY's smile grows as she watches NOA walk cheerfully out the doors to  
the throne room, not diminishing as she turns to look at JUPITER, who is  
staring at her with blank incomprehension.

                                   SERENITY
                    A somewhat obscure joke.

                                    JUPITER
                    Serenity, I wouldn't blame you if
                    you were furious with me but --

                                   SERENITY
                    Lita.  I am not angry with you.  I
                    am not even upset with you.  I *am*
                    somewhat concerned for you.

                                    JUPITER
                    Huh?

                                   SERENITY
                    I am concerned that you did not feel
                    that you could trust me with this
                    information.  BEAT  Why?  

JUPITER looks at SERENITY, who is looking at her with forgiving eyes and a  
peaceful expression, and closes her own eyes in a face of anguish.

                                    JUPITER
                    Because we're supposed to *protect*
                    you!

                                   SERENITY
                    From whom or from what were you
                    trying to protect me this time?
                    BEAT Lita.  I am the ruler and
                    guardian of this world.  You *are*
                    supposed to defend me against all
                    threats, but information which will
                    allow me to fulfill my duties is
                    not a threat.  BEAT  Now, if this
                    was an attempt to allow me to
                    retain some measure of innocence --

                                    JUPITER
                    WEAK Yes ...

                                   SERENITY
                    -- then you are in even greater need
                    of a day off than I had believed.
                    BEAT  Lita, I have long since come
                    to terms with the realities of my
                    situation.  The responsibility of
                    protecting the citizens of the realm
                    has required that I reconsider my
                    definitions of integrity.  Only as
                    long as the things that I must
                    sometimes do or permit to be done
                    continue to bother me, shall I rule
                    in Crystal Tokyo.  If ever there
                    comes a day when the minute guilts
                    that I feel no longer bother me,
                    I shall forthwith resign, destiny
                    be hanged.

                                    JUPITER
                    But that's just it!  I didn't want
                    to add to the burden of guilt by
                    transfering --

                                   SERENITY
                    WEARY Lita!  You would not have
                    transferred anything -- you would
                    have allowed me to carry some of
                    your burden!  BEAT Is not that
                    the way that it was when we were
                    young?  

JUPITER does not look directly at SERENITY as she says her next line.

                                    JUPITER
                    Too much has changed since then.  

SERENITY looks at her with an anguished expression, then sighs.

                                   SERENITY
                    Jupiter, you will take the remainder
                    of this day and the entirety of the
                    next as a holiday.  Hopefully, the
                    rest will allow you to regain some
                    perspective.  BEAT  And in two
                    days, you will tell Ms. Asagiri the
                    facts of this matter.  

JUPITER's face goes hard.

                                    JUPITER
                    I --

                                   SERENITY
                    There will be *no* debate on this
                    matter, Jupiter.  I have made a
                    promise to Ms. Asagiri, and I will
                    *not* let your anger against her
                    interfere.

                                    JUPITER
                    Don't you realize --

                                   SERENITY
                    Yes.  BEAT  I am also aware of all
                    of the circumstances.  I know why it
                    happened, and I know exactly what
                    was running through her mind *as* it
                    happened.  If you also possessed
                    that knowledge, Lita, I do not
                    believe that you would find it so
                    easy to condemn her.  BEAT  Do you
                    remember a night when you tried to
                    fool the Dark Kingdom into believing
                    that Serena wished to abandon the
                    Sailor Scouts?

                                    JUPITER
                    BROKENLY, CLOSE TO TEARS And to
                    ... complete the trick, Serena ...
                    gave the Scepter to ... BEAT why
                    didn't y-- Serena trust me to not
                    give it away?

                                   SERENITY
                    Because she knew that you were too
                    gentle to watch her suffer if you
                    could alleviate it.  And while Raye
                    is many things ... soft-hearted is
                    not one of them.  She could bring
                    herself to wait until the last
                    possible moment to save her ...
                    which is why she is a general, and
                    you are a bodyguard.  Or will be,
                    when you have rested a while.  

JUPITER nods once, and turns to head towards the door.  She pauses just as  
she has opened the door, to look back at the Queen on her lonely throne.

                                      JUPITER
                    I wish ... BEAT I wish a lot of
                    things.  I wish that I understood
                    why you can trust her ...

                                   SERENITY
                    For the same reasons that I could
                    trust Raye, then and now.

                                   JUPITER
                    But Asagiri's nothing like Raye!
                    She's l-- BREAKS OFF  

JUPITER is silent in frustration for a moment, as SERENITY gazes at her 
sadly.  And then she exits.

                                   SERENITY
                    She is ... and she isn't.  BEAT
                    Oh, Lita ...  

Cut back to PRISS' bedroom.  She is reading the journal intently.  [SYLIA  
(AGE 21) is more or less the SYLIA of the series, but a touch more cooly  
analytical.  *Just* a touch ...]

                             SYLIA (AGE 21) (V.O.)
                    I may have found my second agent, a
                    recidivist female musician of the
                    genre termed "retrothrash".  Her
                    police record indicates that she
                    possesses remarkable strength for
                    a female, and a degree of expertise
                    in dirty infighting that rivals men
                    twice her age.  She came to my
                    attention when she began making a
                    nusiance of herself at an ADPolice
                    precinct, asserting that they were,
                    to quote from the transcript of an
                    interview conducted during her brief
                    incarceration as a public nusiance,
                    "fucking up completely" on the
                    investigation of her boyfriend's
                    death.  Her assertion that her lover
                    had been murdered by agents of GENOM
                    was the factor that truly attracted
                    my attention.  I shall be observing
                    her closely.

                                     PRISS
                    Recidivist?  What in hell is that?

                             SYLIA (AGE 21) (V.O.)
                    I have recruited her without much
                    incident.

                                     PRISS
                    You call me trying to put a knife
                    through you not much incident?!

                             SYLIA (AGE 21) (V.O.)
                    She has agreed with my aims of
                    bringing down Genom, claiming to
                    desire revenge for their murder of
                    her love.  I have conducted my own
                    investigation, and discovered the
                    truth behind the affair.  First, the
                    gangleader's claims of possessing
                    secret knowledge of the activities
                    of a "certain organization", which
                    were interpreted by Ms. A. as
                    referring to Genom were a) grossly
                    exaggerated, and b) in reference to
                    one of the few yakuza syndicates
                    that the corporation does *not*
                    possess a significant measure of
                    control over.  He was, it is clear
                    to me, killed as part of a conflict
                    within his gang that Ms. A. appears
                    to be unaware of.  

PRISS is beyond shocked by this, her mouth is hanging open.

                             SYLIA (AGE 21) (V.O.)
                    Ms. A.'s quick identification of the
                    largest megacorporation in the world
                    as the body possessing the largest
                    degree of responsibility for the
                    death of her lover -- and I use the
                    word in a loose way, since according
                    to the information I have gathered,
                    their relationship had deteriorated
                    to the verge of a complete breakup
                    shortly before his death -- is also
                    easily understood as a symptom of
                    her self-destructive personality.
                    She desires a death in flames, and
                    an assault on Genom Tower would be a
                    suicidal move if ever there was one.
                    Set against this is a clearly shown
                    desire to be a part of *something*
                    -- joining her gang, her band, and
                    ultimately my team.  I could find
                    parallels in the tales of many of
                    the Grail Knights, whose desire to
                    be a part of the quest was more than
                    enough to compensate for the almost
                    certain death that they courted, and
                    also the Bushido code that allowed a
                    samurai to willingly die at his
                    lord's command.  A useful trait, if
                    it can be properly channeled.  As I
                    intend to do.  

PRISS sets the book down, looking completely stunned.  Slowly, her face  
twists into an expression of utter rage and humiliation.

                                     PRISS
                    You.  BITCH!!!!  

She flings the book across the room.  It slams into the wall and falls to  
the floor, falling open to a page marked "2033".  As we hear PRISS sobbing  
in the background, our view closes in on the page.  [SYLIA (AGE 23) is the  
SYLIA of the series ... but this is a side of her that we rarely saw.]

                             SYLIA (AGE 23) (V.O.)
                    How could I do that to her?  BEAT
                    She was crouched there, weeping over
                    the husk of one she loved ... and I
                    asked her to betray that final plea.
                    BEAT "I won't!  I won't betray my
                    friends!"  I would never have asked
                    her to betray Green or Pink ... why
                    did I allow myself to believe that
                    what she felt for S. was any less a
                    bond -- simply because it arose from
                    her "enhancements"?  Rather, because
                    I allowed myself to believe that it
                    did.  I allowed myself to believe
                    based on "facts" that only existed
                    because I allowed  myself to believe
                    in them, and Blue is shattered.
                    BEAT How could I do that to her?  

Cut to the Martian dessert.  The car carrying RAYE, SHAMPOO, and RANMA  
speeds along through the frigid wastes, towards a large rock formation.   
The GEV system is very noisy.

                                     RAYE
                    SHOUTED Is that where it is?

                                     RANMA
                    SHOUTED Yes.

                                     RAYE
                    SHOUTED, DISGUSTED Let me guess --
                    you hewed her tomb from the living
                    rock with your bare hands.

                                     RANMA
                    SHOUTED Yup.  

Suddenly, the orange sky of Mars is split by black lightning, converging 
on the rock formation.  The car slows to a stop.

                                    SHAMPOO
                    What's wrong?  

RAYE tries to start the car repeatedly.

                                     RAYE
                    It's gone dead.  Completely.  BEAT
                    Can you feel it?  

SHAMPOO looks confusedly, while RANMA stares with a sick expression.

                                     RAYE
                    We're too late.  She's started.  

Our view moves swiftly across the plain to come to the rock, moving up  
onto the very top of the stone -- where GENNOSUKE stands, her vampiric  
nature never more apparent than right now, holding the Dark Crystal in her  
hands.  Dark power surges all around her.  For a moment, all is as silent  
as death, a silence broken by a single word.

                                   GENNOSUKE
                    Mommy.  

And then the dark power explodes forth.  Beneath the rock on which  
GENNOSUKE stands ... something shifts.  

Cut to an darkened office, where SHEILA is seated at a word processor,  
typing furiously.  Her phone rings, and she picks it up while continuing  
to type with one hand.

                                    SHEILA
                    Hello, Sheila Tenkai.  

A few breaths are the only response.  SHEILA stops typing, and looks at  
the phone with an annoyed expression.

                                    SHEILA
                    Heavy breathing.  Listen, whoever
                    you are -- this doesn't frighten me,
                    and it doesn't turn me on.  Now, if
                    you were to start talking about how
                    much you've been admiring me from
                    afar -- provided that you're a --

                                 PRISS (PHONE)
                    Sheila?

                                    SHEILA
                    Priss?  BEAT  Priss, what's wrong?

                                 PRISS (PHONE)
                    I ... I tried phoning Raye, but she
                    doesn't seem to be ...

                                    SHEILA
                    Priss ... are you alright?

                                 PRISS (PHONE)
                    No.  BEAT  I ... I need --

                                    SHEILA
                    Hang on.  You're in Ikkoku-kan,
                    right?

                                 PRISS (PHONE)
                    You know --

                                    SHEILA
                    I lived there when I was getting my
                    -- that's not important, I'll be
                    there in a minute.  See you soon.

                                     PRISS
                    I --  

SHEILA hangs up, stands, pulls on a jacket ... and takes off at a run.  We  
see her dash out of a university building, jump into a car, and lift off  
in the blink of an eye.  Moments later, she arrives at Ikkoku-kan, and  
rushes in, through the hall, up the stairs, and to the door of room 5.   
She listens, for a moment, but hearing nothing, slowly opens the door.   
PRISS is sitting, curled up in a ball, on her bed.  The book is lying in  
front of her.

                                    SHEILA
                    Priss?

                                     PRISS
                    FLAT Hey.  Howsit going.  

SHEILA steps into the room, closing the door behind her.

                                    SHEILA
                    I've been better.  Is that --

                                     PRISS
                    Tell me about yourself.

                                    SHEILA
                    Huh?

                                     PRISS
                    You know everything there is to know
                    about me, and I don't know anything
                    about you.  Tell me about yourself.

                                    SHEILA
                    Uh ... full name, Sheila Ten'ou-
                    Kaioh, born 12 September 2001 --
                    Virgo, blood type AB.  Height 170
                    cm, weight --

                                     PRISS
                    That's *not* what I meant.  BEAT
                    You had ... two mothers.  How'd
                    that happen?

                                    SHEILA
                    As I understand it -- it involved
                    this cursed spring in China and
                    artificial insemination.  BEAT
                    One of my parents splashed herself
                    with this ... "instant" variety of
                    water from this spring, and ...
                    well ... Aunt Amy always got really
                    embarrassed telling me about it.

                                     PRISS
                    What happened to them?

                                    SHEILA
                    SIGH A few months before my second
                    birthday ... they were both killed
                    in the same battle that caused the
                    death of Serena.  You know about
                    that.  

PRISS doesn't answer, doesn't look up.

                                    SHEILA
                    Anyway, they both died ... before I
                    really developed any clear memories
                    of either of them.  BEAT  Mom was
                    really broken up by all the death.
                    She'd loved Serena, of course, but
                    I think my parents' loss hurt her
                    almost as much.  She took me in ...
                    and for the next thirteen years,
                    there was no Lady Jupiter.  She
                    refused to talk to any of the others
                    about "Sailor business" ... and she
                    wouldn't talk to Serenity at all.
                    She told me, later, that she wanted
                    me to have a normal childhood and
                    adolescence.  She succeeded ... for
                    a while, anyway.

                                     PRISS
                    What went wrong?

                                    SHEILA
                    Boy, that's really cynical.  I mean,
                    you don't know that anything went
                    wrong.  Something could have changed
                    for the better.  BEAT  What went
                    wrong?  There was this crazy woman.
                    I forget her name.  She saw me in a
                    shopping mall this one day, and just
                    up and decided that I was some girl
                    that was responsible for all her
                    problems -- like her brother's
                    death.  I never did understand ...
                    anyway, she kidnapped me, tying me
                    up with these weird ribbons in this
                    deserted mansion.  BEAT  And Mom
                    came to get me with Aunt Raye.  It
                    was the first time I'd ever seen
                    them in their uniforms.  They were
                    so ... magnificent.  BEAT  Mom
                    blasted the crazy woman with one of
                    her lightning bolts, and she went
                    down.  Then Mom, she came and untied
                    me, asked me if I was all right, and
                    when I told her that I was, she gave
                    me to Aunt Raye, and said that she'd
                    follow after a while.  Aunt Raye ...
                    she took me out of there -- I think
                    that she knew what was going to ...
                    anyway, I got loose, and I ran back
                    to grab hold of Mom, and hold her
                    and all that ... and I found that
                    she was hitting the crazy woman.
                    BEAT Over and over.  The poor
                    maniac couldn't fight back, she was
                    just lying there, letting Mom hit
                    her again and again and ... BEAT
                    Finally, there was this crunching
                    noise ... and I heard myself let
                    out a scream.  Mom turned around
                    then, and she was staring at me as
                    though she couldn't grasp the idea
                    that I'd seen her doing ... BEAT
                    You have to understand, she didn't
                    *hurt* me.  She just *scared* me.
                    But when Serenity arrived, after
                    she did something to turn Mom's
                    power off, she explained to me that
                    Mom was ... sick.  That she'd been
                    sick ever since Serena died, and
                    that Mom'd just shown that she had
                    been right to avoid using her powers
                    -- Serenity said something about
                    great power and great responsibility
                    that I later found out she'd gotten
                    out of a manga.  Anyway, since she
                    was also too sick to take care of
                    me, I was going to be put in cryo-
                    sleep for a while, until she was
                    well.  BEAT  That's how I spent
                    most of the next eight hundred
                    years.  They let me out now and
                    then ... first time in 2038.  Mom
                    had been given back her powers by
                    then, but I didn't see her.  I
                    didn't get to see her until ...
                    BEAT  Priss, what's wrong?  Why
                    did you call me?  

PRISS looks up.  Her face is tearstreaked.

                                     PRISS
                    I found out that my "mom" did some
                    questionable things too.

                                    SHEILA
                    Your mom?  BEAT  You mean, in
                    Ms. Stingray's journal, she had
                    found out some things about your
                    m--

                                     PRISS
                    No.  BEAT  That was how she
                    thought of herself, at the end.
                    "It's not right for a mother to
                    outlive her children."  That was the
                    last entry in her journal.  She'd
                    started to think of me, and Nene,
                    and Linna as her kids.  BEAT  I
                    could have handled that, I mean, she
                    always seemed so much older than I
                    was, not three years, more like ten
                    ... but ...  

PRISS reaches out to shove the book towards SHEILA.

                                     PRISS
                    Read.

                                    SHEILA
                    Uh ... are you sure that --

                                     PRISS
                    *Read.*  

SHEILA comes over, sits down on the bed beside PRISS (keeping a safe  
distance at all times), picks up the book, and starts to read aloud.

                                    SHEILA
                    "23 April 2034.  I completed the
                    upgrade early this morning.  I am
                    very pleased with the improved
                    arnament systems on all of the
                    suits, even the strange ECM-based
                    equipment that Nene designed last
                    month, that I still can't quite
                    figure out.  A preliminary field
                    test indicates that it's workable,
                    however.  I will contact the others
                    tomorrow, to get started on the
                    contract that we have just been
                    offered.  I think I will actually
                    contact Blue this evening ... she
                    apparently has a concert." BEAT;
                    TURNS A PAGE  "She hates me."  

SHEILA blinks, stares at the page, and looks at PRISS, who is sitting with  
her head in her knees.  SHEILA looks back at the page.

                                    SHEILA
                    "She hates me.  It's obvious, now.
                    And I can't blame her."  BEAT  "I
                    was late for her `gig', which was
                    apparently a farewell concert, since
                    she intends to move onto `the big
                    time' starting tomorrow.  I hoped to
                    at least congratulate her on her
                    success, so I stayed, standing in
                    the shadows of the club." BEAT
                    "After everyone had left but the
                    janitor, she came back out onto the
                    stage, examining the instruments,
                    the lights ... and last, the mike.
                    She stared at the mike for a long
                    moment before she picked it up and
                    started to sing, a capella.  It
                    wasn't one of the songs that she
                    usually did -- it started soft, and
                    slow, and --"

                                     PRISS
                    Play.  

The sound system in the corner of the room begins to play as per PRISS'  
spoken request.  The song is "What A Fool I Am", as recorded by Raye Hino,  
2896.

                                     SONG
                    I -- I've never realized
                    What I've given up for you
                    You -- you never gave me the chance
                    To be what I wanted, to love you as I am
                    Just like the love you never gave me
                    Doesn't stop me from wanting you,
                    And all the crazy lies you told me
                    Doesn't stop me ... from loving you

                    What a fool I am
                    What a fool I've been
                    Falling in love with you
                    Helplessly
                    What a fool I am
                    Oh, what a fool I've been
                    Begging my love for you
                    Endlessly

                    Now -- now that I've come to know
                    You never really cared
                    Still -- still in my heart I hold
                    This everlasting love
                    If only you reach into my heart
                    If only you could feel the love I have
                    Then maybe you'd come to realize
                    There's one in a million ... me.
                    Still I got to want you
                    Still I got to need you
                    Still I come begging ...
                    For your love ...

                                     PRISS
                    FLAT Off.  

The music stops.  SHEILA looks at PRISS (who is still curled up) with a  
shaken expression, then resumes her reading.

                                    SHEILA
                    "... it can only have been about me.
                    No one has ever asked her to give
                    as much up as I have ... and for
                    what?  A crusade against a foe that
                    I long ago realized that we could
                    never defeat?"  BEAT  "She has
                    given everything for *my* causes,
                    and when have I ever shown her any
                    gratitude ... or even compassion for
                    her losses?" BEAT "The hardest
                    part is the idea that she loved me.
                    For so long, I have been struggling
                    with my attraction to her ... she is
                    so beautiful, so vulnerable, so ...
                    needing love ... and to learn that
                    she could have loved me is almost
                    more than I can --"  

PRISS does not look up.

                                     PRISS
                    She goes on like that for a few
                    pages.  "I am such a terrible person
                    that no one could ever love me, boo
                    hoo."  And you know, not too long
                    ago I would have agreed with her.
                    BEAT It wasn't about *her*!  I
                    didn't even *think* of her when I
                    wrote it!  It was about -- someone
                    else.  Someone I realized, after it
                    was too late -- that she might have
                    been just using me.  That she might
                    have not even known what love was.
                    I wrote it the morning after ... and
                    I only ever sang it that one time
                    ... and it had to be the one fucking
                    time that *she* came to one of my
                    shows ...  

Suddenly, PRISS looks up with a furious expression, reaches out, and tries  
to grab the book from SHEILA, who is startled but doesn't let go.

                                     PRISS
                    DAMN YOU, SYLIA!  WHY THE HELL DID
                    YOU HAVE TO BE SUCH A GODDAMN EGO
                    FREAK?!  IT WASN'T ABOUT YOU!  HOW
                    DARE YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH ME AND
                    NEVER TELL ME ABOUT IT!  WHY DIDN'T
                    YOU SAY SOMETHING?!  WHY COULDN'T
                    YOU --

                                    SHEILA
                    -- give you the chance, to be what
                    you wanted, to love her as you were?

                                     PRISS
                    YES!  BEAT; WHISPERED Oh fuck.  

She drops her grip on the book, and SHEILA gently sets it down on the  
floor.  PRISS has a completely horrified expression on her face.

                                    SHEILA
                    That's the problem with love songs.
                    What they mean to someone will
                    depend on what that person feels ...
                    and like any true piece of art, what
                    the songwriter intended isn't the
                    issue.

                                     PRISS
                    WHISPERED No ... no, I *couldn't*
                    have ... I ...  

PRISS suddenly begins to cry.  SHEILA looks at her a moment, before  
holding open her arms.  PRISS collapses into her embrace, sobbing.

Cut to outside the door of room 5.  We can hear PRISS' sobbing, and  
SHEILA's gentle words of solace.  Our view rotates to show JUPITER, who is 
standing just outside the door with a furious expression.  Her hand 
crackles with lightning momentarily.  She shakes her head, and turns to 
walk away.

                                    JUPITER
                    MUTTER She's going to break her
                    heart.  I *know* that she's going to
                    break her heart.  

Cut to a passageway in the palace.  SERENITY walks aimlessly through the  
hallway, examining the crystal structure idly.  Suddenly, a MALE PAGE runs  
up to her.

                                     PAGE
                    Your Majesty!  The results of the
                    vote have just been released!

SERENITY closes her eyes.

                                   SERENITY
                    And what were they?

                                     PAGE
                    Approximately 52% of those voting
                    *rejected* the proposition of ending
                    the alliance with Jurai, your
                    Majesty.  

SERENITY lets out a long, shuddering breath.

                                     PAGE
                    Voter turnout was the highest since
                    the last monarchal referrendum, at
                    97%.  Would you like a complete
                    summary of the results, your
                    Majesty?  

SERENITY opens her eyes, and smiles at the PAGE.

                                   SERENITY
                    No, young man, that won't be
                    necessary.  BEAT  Please inform
                    the Royal Publicist that I shall
                    make an address on this topic ...
                    shortly.

                                     PAGE
                    Yes, your Majesty.  

SERENITY starts to walk away, then turns to smile again at the page.   He  
smiles back, but looks somewhat confused at the same time.  She turns to  
walk away again, to the doors of the throne room.  She rests her hand on  
the door for a few moments, as if preparing herself for something ... then  
opens the door.  

Inside, a reddish-brown haired woman in a black leather jumpsuit (FUJIKO) 
is sitting on the throne, with one leg thrown over the arm.

                                    FUJIKO
                    Hello, your Queenship.  Congrats on
                    the vote going your way ... it's
                    gonna be the last thing that will
                    for a while.

                                   SERENITY
                    Really?  Tell me, Ms. Fujiko, what
                    is there to stop me from summoning
                    enough guards to fill this room --
                    or if you are jamming the radio, to
                    defeat you myself?  I am very far
                    from helpless ...

                                    FUJIKO
                    My employers took that into
                    consideration.  

FUJIKO produces a bracelet, and tosses it to SERENITY, who catches it  
easily.

                                    FUJIKO
                    Standard power dampening bracelet.
                    If you'd put it on, please?

                                   SERENITY
                    Why in the world would I do a silly
                    thing like that?  

FUJIKO produces a grenade-like device, which she keeps a very firm grip  
on.

                                    FUJIKO
                    Thermal detonator, with an unusual
                    trigger mechanism.  First, there's a
                    standard "dead-man's" switch.  If I
                    release it, boom.  But there's also
                    a magic-sensitive trigger -- any
                    significant build up of magical
                    energy within a few hundred feet,
                    boom.  In other words, you can
                    always try to blast me ... but even
                    if you build up the energy to do it
                    in under a second, it'll still go
                    off when I release it.  And while
                    you can probably teleport away
                    before the bomb goes off ... can
                    everyone else in the Palace?  

SERENITY is very still for a moment.

                                   SERENITY
                    There are over two hundred people in
                    the palace at any given time.  Your
                    employer desires to see me so much
                    that he is willing to kill --

                                    FUJIKO
                    Looks like it.  So?  Are you gonna
                    put that thing on?  'Cause my thumb
                    is starting to ache ...

                                   SERENITY
                    SIGH I really do not understand
                    why some people cannot stand to make
                    appointments ... very well.  

SERENITY places the bracelet around her right wrist, and clicks it shut.   
We see a brief sizzle as it clicks, but nothing else seems to happen.

                                    FUJIKO
                    Hey, I can see your point.  But on
                    the other hand, I'm getting paid a
                    lot to escort you to my employer --
                    so I'm just as glad that he didn't.
                    Shall we go?

                                   SERENITY
                    I suppose we should.  

FUJIKO hops off the throne, walks to the door, and holds it open for  
SERENITY, smiling nastily.  SERENITY walks calmly out the door, and FUJIKO  
closes it behind them.

                            To Be Continued.  


Together Again: 2937 Chapter, 04/21/97